Variability in the health of human populations is greater in economically vulnerable areas. We tested whether this variability reflects and can be explained by: (1) underlying vulnerabilities and capacities of populations, and/or (2) differences in the distribution of individual socioeconomic status between populations. Health outcomes were rates of mortality from twelve causes (cardiovascular disease, malignant neoplasms, accidents, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, pneumonia and influenza, diseases of the nervous system, suicide, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes, homicide, HIV/AIDS) for 59 New York City neighborhoods in 2000. Negative binomial regression models were fit with a measure of socioeconomic vulnerability, median income, predicting each mortality rate. Overdispersion of each model was used to assess whether variability in mortality rates increased with increasing neighborhood socioeconomic vulnerability. To assess the two hypotheses, we examined changes in the variability of mortality rates (as indicated by changes in overdispersion of the models) for outcomes with significant non-constant variability after accounting for (1) vulnerabilities and capacities (social control, quality of local schools...

Bipolar disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) show high co-occurrence. One explanation for this co-occurrence may be common personality vulnerabilities involved in both. We tested whether high Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity and impulsiveness are shared personality vulnerabilities in bipolar spectrum disorders and substance use problems and their co-occurrence in a longitudinal study of 132 bipolar spectrum and 153 normal individuals. At Time 1, participants completed the BIS/BAS Scales and the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale. Substance use problems were assessed via the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the Drug Abuse Screening Test at 4 month intervals for one year. Bipolar participants had higher rates of lifetime SUDs and substance use problems during the follow-up, relative to normal controls. In line with hypotheses, higher BAS sensitivity and impulsiveness predicted bipolar status and increased substance use problems prospectively. BAS Total, BAS Fun-seeking, and impulsiveness mediated the association between bipolar spectrum status and prospective substance use problems, with impulsiveness as the most important mediator. High BAS sensitivity and impulsiveness may represent shared personality vulnerabilities for both disorders...

The stability of 3 cognitive vulnerabilities—a negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, and rumination—as well as depressive symptoms as a benchmark were examined to investigate whether cognitive vulnerabilities are stable, enduring risks for depression. A sample of adolescents (6th–10th graders) completed measures of these 3 cognitive vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms every 5 weeks for 4 waves of data across 5 months. Mean-level and differential stability were examined for the sample overall and by age subgroups. A negative cognitive style exhibited mean-level stability, whereas rumination and dysfunctional attitudes showed some mean-level change. Absolute magnitudes of test–retest reliabilities were strong for depressive symptoms (mean r = .70), moderately high for a negative cognitive style (mean r = .52), and more modest for rumination (mean r = .28) and dysfunctional attitudes (mean r = .26). Structural equation modeling showed that primarily enduring processes, but not contextual forces, contributed to the patterning of these test–retest reliabilities over time for a negative cognitive style and dysfunctional attitudes, whereas both enduring and contextual dynamics appeared to underlie the stability for rumination. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Neuroticism has been hypothesized to be a nonspecific risk factor for both anxiety and unipolar mood disorders whereas some cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities have been hypothesized to be more specific to depression. Using a retrospective design with a sample of 575 high school juniors, we tested three competing models of the associations among these variables. Both neuroticism and the cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities had significant zero-order associations with rates of past diagnoses of both anxiety and unipolar mood disorders. Neuroticism had significant unique associations with past anxiety disorders and comorbid anxiety and unipolar mood disorders whereas the other vulnerabilities did not. In addition, gender interacted with neuroticism but not with the other vulnerabilities in associating with past diagnoses of mood disorders, showing that neuroticism is more highly associated with past unipolar mood diagnoses in males than in females. Finally, the cognitive and personality-cognitive vulnerabilities overlapped with substantial portions of the variance that neuroticism shared with diagnoses. These results suggest that, at least for retrospective associations with past anxiety and unipolar mood disorders...

Psychosocial vulnerabilities may predispose individuals to develop depression after a significant life stressor, such as an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aims are (1) to examine the interrelations among vulnerabilities, and their relation with changes in depressive symptoms 3 months after ACS, (2) to prospectively assess whether rumination interacts with other vulnerabilities as a predictor of later depressive symptoms, and (3) to examine how these relations differ between post-ACS patients who meet diagnostic criteria for depression at baseline versus patients who do not. Within 1 week after hospitalization for ACS, and again after 3 months, 387 patients (41% female, 79.6% white, mean age 61) completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and measures of vulnerabilities (lack of pleasant events, dysfunctional attitudes, role transitions, poor dyadic adjustment). Exclusion criteria were a BDI score of 5–9, terminal illness, active substance abuse, cognitive impairment, and unavailability for follow-up visits. We used hierarchical regression modeling cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Controlling for baseline (in-hospital) depression and cardiovascular disease severity, vulnerabilities significantly predicted 3 month depression severity. Rumination independently predicted increased depression severity...

This paper examines the relationship between indicators of mobility, socio-economic vulnerabilities, and HIV risk behaviours among 5,498 mobile female sex workers (FSWs) living in the four high HIV prevalence states in India. Female sex workers with greater degree of mobility reported significantly more often than the FSWs with lesser degree of mobility that they experienced physical violence, and consumed alcohol prior to sex. Further, FSWs with greater degree of mobility reported significantly more often than the FSWs with lesser degree of mobility that they had inconsistent condom use in sex with clients, even after controlling for several demographic characteristics and socio-economic vulnerabilities including experiences of violence. Additionally, short duration visits and visit to the Jatra (religious fairs) places found to have significant association with their inconsistent condom use in sex with clients as well as continuation of sex despite having STI symptoms. These findings suggest the need for screening FSWs for higher degree of mobility and to mobilize them to form community networks so as to deal with violence, reduce alcohol use and promote consistent condom use along the routes of mobility. HIV prevention interventions aimed at FSWs require an increased attention to address the socio-economic vulnerabilities including alcohol use...

Early pubertal timing has been found to confer risk for the occurrence of interpersonal stressful events during adolescence. However, pre-existing vulnerabilities may exacerbate the effects of early pubertal timing on the occurrence of stressors. Thus, the current study prospectively examined whether cognitive vulnerabilities amplified the effects of early pubertal timing on interpersonal stress generation. In a diverse sample of 310 adolescents (M age = 12.83 years, 55 % female; 53 % African American), early pubertal timing predicted higher levels of interpersonal dependent events among adolescents with more negative cognitive style and rumination, but not among adolescents with lower levels of these cognitive vulnerabilities. These findings suggest that cognitive vulnerabilities may heighten the risk of generating interpersonal stress for adolescents who undergo early pubertal maturation, which may subsequently place adolescents at greater risk for the development of psychopathology.

Orphans are a subpopulation with a unique set of additional vulnerabilities. Increasing focus on children’s rights, pediatric global health, and pediatric research makes it imperative to recognize and address unique vulnerabilities of orphaned children. This paper describes the unique vulnerabilities of the orphaned pediatric population and offers a structured set of factors that require consideration when including orphans in biomedical research. Pediatric orphans are particularly vulnerable due to decreased economic resources, psychosocial instability, increased risk of abuse, and delayed/decreased access to healthcare. These vulnerabilities are significant. By carefully considering each issue in a population in a culturally specific and study-specific manner, researchers can make valuable contributions to the overall health and well-being of this uniquely vulnerable population.

The increased connectivity to existing computer networks has exposed medical devices to cybersecurity vulnerabilities from which they were previously shielded. For the prevention of cybersecurity incidents, it is important to recognize the complexity of the operational environment as well as to catalog the technical vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity protection is not just a technical issue; it is a richer and more intricate problem to solve. A review of the factors that contribute to such a potentially insecure environment, together with the identification of the vulnerabilities, is important for understanding why these vulnerabilities persist and what the solution space should look like. This multifaceted problem must be viewed from a systemic perspective if adequate protection is to be put in place and patient safety concerns addressed. This requires technical controls, governance, resilience measures, consolidated reporting, context expertise, regulation, and standards. It is evident that a coordinated, proactive approach to address this complex challenge is essential. In the interim, patient safety is under threat.

As part of an experimental approach to “red teaming” that is studying the problem of enemy access denial
systems, the author performed a detailed investigation of the vulnerabilities of the U. S. military’s power projection capabilities.
The primary purpose of this document is to facilitate out-of-the-box thinking by future “red teams”. Thirty-six separate areas of
vulnerability relevant to access denial were identified The vulnerabilities span all ranges from tactical to strategic, from weapons to
logistics, and from military to societal. The agreement between this “list” of vulnerabilities and a previous list prepared independently
by the Defense Science Board is striking. There is additional strong support for this list in the specific weapons systems that
the three different “red teams” involved in the access denial study (all of whom preceded the completion of this study) opted to
develop for their 2020 epoch force structures.
Each of the 36 vulnerabilities identified here is examined in detail to define the nature of that vulnerability,
its causes, and the things that affect it. In addition, specific ways in which a potential “near peer competitor” could exploit those
vulnerabilities to enhance his access denial capability are discussed. In addition to it future use in “red teaming”...

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited; The objective of this research is to examine the threats and vulnerabilities of a Windows NT network. One aspect of this research is to add to the Department of Defense's understanding of the disadvantages of the system. This research demonstrates five vulnerabilities of Windows NT with respect to the military network operating system security environment. First, there is the NetBIOS-over-TCP)IP vulnerability. Windows NT by default allows networking over this protocol. This protocol could allow an attacker to remotely connect to a drive and edit the registry. Second, the server message block (SMB) vulnerability allows remote access to shared directories. An unauthorized user could use this hole to access everything on the shared resources. Third, the remote registry access vulnerability could allow an attacker to view and change the contents of another computer's Registry. Fourth, improperly set permissions could allow unauthorized access to sensitive and classified data. Fifth, the built-in file transfer protocol (H?) service allows users to change directories. Users could use this hole to sec the root directory. Before DOD becomes too committed to Windows NT, these issues need to be addressed; http://archive.org/details/windowsntthreats00moor; Lieutenant...

As part of the ongoing Revolution in Military Affairs, the Navy and Marine Corps are engaged in an ambitious effort to integrate emerging technologies into new operational concepts. The vision of future conflict places heavy emphasis on highly mobile forces that will require unprecedented cooperation between forces afloat and ashore. These new operational concepts, such as Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS), require new technologies to give small combat units unmatched situational awareness ultimately leading to greater combat power. The Extending the Littoral Battlespace (ELB) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration has sought to demonstrate new advances in joint expeditionary warfare significantly aided by a commercial-off-the-shelf wireless communications system. This thesis examines potential vulnerabilities of the ELB wireless local area network. Specifically, it explores the impact such vulnerabilities may have on the eventual ability of supported units to accomplish their mission in an OMFTS-type scenario. The vulnerabilities are divided between the two network layers defined by the commercial standard, the physical and MAC layers. This study concludes that there are considerable vulnerabilities at both network layers...

Software security failures are common and the problem is growing. A vulnerability is a weakness in the software that, when exploited, causes a security failure. It is difficult to detect vulnerabilities until they manifest themselves as security failures in the operational stage of the software, because security concerns are often not addressed or known sufficiently early during the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Complexity, coupling, and cohesion (CCC) related software metrics can be measured during the early phases of software development such as design or coding. Although these metrics have been successfully employed to indicate software faults in general, the relationships between CCC metrics and vulnerabilities have not been extensively investigated yet. If empirical relationships can be discovered between CCC metrics and vulnerabilities, these metrics could aid software developers to take proactive actions against potential vulnerabilities in software.
In this thesis, we investigate whether CCC metrics can be utilized as early indicators of software vulnerabilities. We conduct an extensive case study on several releases of Mozilla Firefox to provide empirical evidence on how vulnerabilities are related to complexity...

Somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs) are a class of alterations that lead to deviations from diploidy in developing and established tumors. A feature that distinguishes SCNAs from other alterations is their genomic footprint. The large genomic footprint of SCNAs in a typical cancer's genome presents both a challenge and an opportunity to find targetable vulnerabilities in cancer. Because a single event affects many genes, it is often challenging to identify the tumorigenic targets of SCNAs. Conversely, events that affect multiple genes may provide specific vulnerabilities through "bystander" genes, in addition to vulnerabilities directly associated with the targets.
We approached the goal of understanding how the structure of SCNAs may lead to dependency in two ways. To improve our understanding of how SCNAs promote tumor progression we analyzed the SCNAs in 4934 primary tumors in 11 common cancers collected by the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The scale of this dataset provided insights into the structure and patterns of SCNA, including purity and ploidy rates across disease, mechanistic forces shaping patterns of SCNA, regions undergoing significantly recurrent SCNAs, and correlations between SCNAs in regions implicated in cancer formation.
In a complementary approach...

This paper presents the source code analysis of a file reader server socket
program (connection-oriented sockets) developed in Java, to illustrate the
identification, impact analysis and solutions to remove five important software
security vulnerabilities, which if left unattended could severely impact the
server running the software and also the network hosting the server. The five
vulnerabilities we study in this paper are: (1) Resource Injection, (2) Path
Manipulation, (3) System Information Leak, (4) Denial of Service and (5)
Unreleased Resource vulnerabilities. We analyze the reason why each of these
vulnerabilities occur in the file reader server socket program, discuss the
impact of leaving them unattended in the program, and propose solutions to
remove each of these vulnerabilities from the program. We also analyze any
potential performance tradeoffs (such as increase in code size and loss of
features) that could arise while incorporating the proposed solutions on the
server program. The proposed solutions are very generic in nature, and can be
suitably modified to correct any such vulnerabilities in software developed in
any other programming language. We use the Fortify Source Code Analyzer to
conduct the source code analysis of the file reader server program...

This research investigated the use of alcohol and other drugs and related vulnerabilities among students from nine public schools participating in Projeto Saúde e Prevenção na Escola (SPE -Health and Prevention at School Project) and in Programa Saúde na Escola (PSE -Health at School Program) in the city of Florianópolis (Southern Brazil). The sample comprises 789 students ranging from the 7th grade (Elementary School) to the 3rd grade (High School). Main results: Tobacco was used by 20.1% of the students, 7% reported marijuana use, 1.3% used cocaine and 0.6% used crack at least once. Alcohol was the most frequently used drug: 30.1% of all students reported binge drinking. Students who make use of alcohol and other drugs are in a vulnerable situation: they skip more classes, get involved in fights more often, are sexually more active and admittedly take risks regarding HIV infection. Family influence is relevant, both protecting from drug use and leading to practices.; Esta pesquisa investigou o uso de álcool e outras drogas e as vulnerabilidades relacionadas de estudantes de nove escolas públicas participantes do Programa Saúde do Escolar/Saúde e Prevenção nas Escolas no município de Florianópolis. Participaram 789 alunos entre o sétimo ano do Ensino Fundamental e o terceiro ano do Ensino Médio. O álcool foi utilizado por 30...